Collaboration With Green Book of Tampa Bay
The Green Book of Tampa Bay is a great service that connects consumers with Black-owned businesses and organizations in the Tampa Bay Area, and it was founded by some pretty awesome people!
Check out the Green Book of Tampa Bay on this Community Collaboration, and say hello to my former classmate and colleague who is leading the way in conversations about race, equity, and justice, Joshua Bean. :)
Q: What are your names and titles?
A: Co-founders Hillary Van Dyke and Joshua Bean
Q: What is the name of your business/organization?
A: Green Book of Tampa Bay
Q: Why did you create Green Book?
A: To improve equity and economic vitality in the Black community.
Q: What services are offered at the Green Book?
A: Our site serves an online directory of African American cultural sites, Black artists and Black-owned businesses in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.
Q: What's your favorite part about cultivating The Green Book?
A: Seeing businesses connecting and collaborating as a result of our site. Of course seeing more dollars circulating in the Black community.
Q: Tell us more about being social-preneurs.
A: We are both educators so we didn’t get in this to get rich monetarily. We got in this to improve equity in our local community. Green Book of Tampa Bay is our passion project! We both believe in leading through direct action. We feel like it was essential to encourage others to increase commerce, build social and economic capital, and economic vitality by focusing specially and intentionally on Black-owned businesses. We feel like doing this helps improve our overall community.
Q: What makes The Green Book unique?
A: There really isn’t anything else out there like it. Thanks to our partnership with One Community St. Pete, who paired us with a web developer and allowed us to revamp our site that now serves as a Yelp for Black-owned businesses. Everything is based on your geo location so anyone can add a listing, not only in the immediate Tampa Bay Area but beyond. We have goals of expanding our current reach and our our new site really allows us to do that.
Q: How can people learn more and contact you? (Website, Phone, Social Media Platforms)
A: Website: https://greenbooktampabay.org/
Facebook: GreenBookTB
Instagram: GreenBookTB
